The return to the 1956 Joint Declaration in the Russia-Japan peace treaty talks in no way implies an automatic transfer of Russian territories to the Japanese side, Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, TASS reported.
"Over these days we have heard a great variety of different speculations, political guesses about some sort of a separate deal on the transfer of the islands and so on. This is not true and cannot be true," he told the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin program of the Rossiya-1 television channel, commenting on the Russian-Japanese agreement to continue the peace treaty talks on the basis of the 1956 declaration.
"Can we say that it means automatic transference of any territories? Absolutely no. This is what President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin was saying when he answered journalists’ question," Peskov said.
According to the Kremlin spokesman, the sides will reach a compromise that will not run counter to their interests. "Naturally, a compromise will be needed. We can say it already now that this compromise will not be in conflict with the national interests of either of the sides," he said. "Obviously, having such a vast experience, Russia cannot ignore Japan’s allied relations with other countries, first of all, with the United States. It is taken into account during the talks and this matter will need a solution."
"Despite the complexity of the topic of the peace treaty with Japan, this problem can be settled. Such difficult problems are solvable all the same, and the experience of territorial talks with China is a good example of that," Peskov stressed.
